PM , Bill Gates reaffirm commitment to polio eradication

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Bill Gates, chairman of the Gates Foundation, in New York on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly, Mettis Global reported. Their talks covered the foundation's cooperation with Pakistan on polio, maternal and child health, nutrition, immunisation, digitalisation and financial inclusion, and Sharif expressed appreciation for that support.

Sharif pointed to a recent visit by a Gates Foundation team to Pakistan earlier this month and restated the government's determination to wipe out polio nationwide. He thanked the foundation for its long-running backing and said he was personally committed to ending the disease.

Gates praised Pakistan's continuing drive against polio under Sharif's direction, stressing that ending the disease matters greatly for future generations. He also acknowledged the prime minister's personal guidance to provincial administrations on the national vaccination campaign.